Compagnie des Archers d'Étampes

Étampes is a town located in the south of Paris. The flag of the
"Compagnie d'Archers d'Étampes", a sports club, is a vertical, swallow-tailed banner. The main field is white. The emblem is a sun, whose design was inspired by
representations of the sun in the XVIIth century. The sun was then
the emblem of arquebusiers. The name of the town is placed above the
emblem. Below the emblem are placed two dates:
- 1179, for the oldest evidence of archery found in the municipal
archives of Étampes;
- 1979, for the reestablishment of the Company.
The emblem, town name and dates, as well as the borders of the
flag are embroidered in gold.

More historical information on archery in Étampes can be found in the book by Léon Marquis, Les rues d'Étampes et ses monuments, Histoire -
Archéologie - Chronique - Géographie - Biographie et Bibliographie,
avec des documents inédits, plans, cartes et figures pouvant servir de
suppléments et d'éclaircissement aux Antiquités de la ville et du duché d'Étampes, de Dom Basile Fleureau, Étampes, Brière, 1881 [with two reprints, Lafitte, 1986, and Éditions de la Tour Gile, 1996]. The book has been digitalized by the "Corpus Étampois".
Chapter I (Exposé général) of the book has a section dedicated to Jeux et arbalétriers.
In 1179, King Louis VII issued a Decree allowing the sale of bows in
Étampes, the bow sellers having to pay a tax of "a bow per year". This
is the oldest mention of archery in Étampes, which explains the year
"1179" written on the banner of the modern company, which was recreated
in "1979" (the second year written on the flag). In 1369, King Charles
V issued a Decree prescribing to all citizens to learn "how to shoot
with a bow and a crossbow". The same Decree prohibited card and dice
games. On 21 May 1549, King Henri III set up by Letters Patented
companies of arquebusiers and crossbowmen.

Historical flag of the arquebusiers of Étampes - Image by Ivan Sache, 28 April 2008

In 1754, the arquebusiers of Étampes had a flag and a gonfanon,
described and shown (black and white graphics) by Marquis. The flags
was white with a blue cross, while the gonfanon was white with a 16-
rays sun with the interlaced motto "Nec pluribus impar". This is for
sure the origin of the flag of the "Compagnie des Archers d'Étampes".
In 1774, there were 48 arquebusiers' companies, the company of Étampes
being the second biggest after the company of Sainte-Menehould; the
next year, the number of arquebusiers in Étampes was decreased from
55 to 40.
The arquebusiers' company of Étampes was disbanded on 15 August 1790
in the Notre-Dame church of Étampes, its flag and gonfanon were "put
away".